Submersible watercraft or submarines are a highly sophisticated and well-established part of the navies of the world. A modern submarine permits extended undersea voyages for an extensive crew, allowing missions to be carried out with a high level of stealth and safety. While submarines are typically designed to be most efficient when traveling underwater, they are capable of both submerged and surface travel. Due to the vastly different hull characteristics required for efficient surface and subsurface travel, however, surface travel speed and efficiency is sacrificed to improve underwater performance. This is entirely reasonable, however, as the very purpose of a submarine suggests that its design should be to favor underwater travel.
There are situations, however, in which rapid deployment of a vessel may take precedence over the improved stealth characteristics associated with underwater travel, and it is well recognized that surface travel is significantly more efficient than underwater travel, and that much greater speeds can be obtained with a planing hull than a hull that is fully submerged. Yet even in such circumstances the ability to have the vessel submerged at some point in time can be of significant value. Particularly in the case of relatively small watercraft intended for military operations, the ability to maintain the vessel at the mission demarcation point in an undetected manner is substantially enhanced if the vessel is submerged. In such circumstances, the need for underwater travel is minimized. Major requisites of such a vessel are rapid surface travel coupled with the ability to submerge at a chosen location, remain submerged for an extended period of time, and then surface and leave the demarcation point in a rapid manner. Because the personnel compliment aboard is normally outfitted with self-contained, underwater breathing apparatus (scuba) the need for a watertight enclosed quarters for the personnel is not required.
It is accordingly a purpose of the present invention to provide a surface-planing vessel having the capability of submerging, remaining below the surface for an extended period, and then resurfacing for further powered surface travel.
It is a further purpose of the present invention to provide such a submersible vessel having solely a surface propulsion system.
It is still a further purpose of the present invention to provide such a vessel in which the surface propulsion system can be fully sealed from the surrounding seas when stopped and the vessel submerged, and which can be easily and efficiently reconfigured for surface operation upon surfacing of the vessel.
Still a further purpose of the present invention is to provide a surface propelled vessel having the capability to operate in a semi-submerged configuration on surface propulsion to lessen the visibility of the vessel, and sink to the bottom for temporary storage, followed by resurfacing and de-watering to operate as a planing craft.